The Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI), Jammu and Kashmir Chapter, celebrated World Town Planning Day for the first time in the Union Territory with the theme “Rebuilding the Planning Framework: Addressing Institutional Gaps and Professional Challenges in Jammu and Kashmir.”
The event brought together professional town planners, academicians, and urban experts from across J&K to discuss critical issues impacting the region’s urban growth. Participants expressed concern over rapid urbanisation, weak institutional capacity, and the shortage of qualified town planners across departments and development authorities.
With nearly one-third of J&K’s 1.3 crore population residing in towns and cities, the UT comprises 78 statutory towns and over 22 Tourism Development Authorities functioning with mandates similar to Development Authorities like SDA and JDA.
Members of ITPI commended the government’s recent steps to reorganize Town Planning Organisations and create dedicated urban and regional planning units. They urged that this initiative be extended to other departments such as the Housing Board, Urban Local Bodies, and Tourism Development Authorities by establishing dedicated posts for qualified planners.
The deliberations underscored several challenges including outdated planning laws, weak institutional structures, archaic recruitment rules, and lack of comprehensive Master Plans for smaller towns.
Key recommendations included modernization of planning legislation, fast-tracking of Master Plans, revision of recruitment rules, establishment of a School of Planning in J&K, and urgent recruitment of planning professionals to build institutional strength.
The event concluded with a collective resolve to strengthen policy frameworks, institutional capacity, and professional empowerment to ensure inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban development across Jammu and Kashmir.
The ITPI J&K Chapter reaffirmed its commitment to work in partnership with government bodies, academic institutions, and planning professionals to build a modern and responsive planning ecosystem in the Union Territory.